Publisher Evanston Township High School Media Program

Digitizing sponsor Listen Up!: The Way We See It: Youth Speak Out on Education

Two years ago, Jamaal was going nowhere fast with poor grades, second-rate test scores and little support from home. Yet, Jamal will graduate High School with a 3.73 grade point average and head to college with a prestigious $100,000 Posse Fellowship where he will pursue his dream of being an engineer. How did such a drastic change occur? "I had some teachers that turned me around," he concludes, "they didnít give up on me, they encouraged me. They refused to let me fail." A detailed behind-the-scenes look into the classrooms of the teachers at Evanston Township High School, just outside of Chicago, reveals a mixture of inspiring pedagogy, emotional coaching with a strong dose of personalized attention. It is a combination that has transformed this student from a statistic of minority under-achievement to a model of academic success.

Contact Information http://www.listenup.org/education/